Boy doesn't time fly, 16 days to the start of Rally Tas. Progress on the car is now well under way with a new crown wheel and pinion having just arrived to replace the unit that exited stage left (literally, smashing the g'box case in the process) during Auspine rally 07. Along with a stack of new bearings and a rebuilt front KAAZ diff the gearbox should be in the car by the end of the week. We also have to replace all wheel bearings, rebuild the brake calipers and clean and repack the suspension strut legs. We will then be performing the necessary suspension set up changes which will involve changing the ride height and then balancing the corner weights with crew onboard, then onto reseting the struts for damping and rebound to dial out suspension bounce/hop which we experienced on our last track outing.
Once the general maintenance and set-up changes have been completed we will be onto the last fiddly bits before the event. We hope to be able to re-install the intercooler water spray system which we have not run on the car for a while. Then we are onto the final touches like co-driver seating position and fitting new harness belts. We have also got to remake the camera mount to suit the tarmac rally specs.
Thanks to Rob Honey of Reflection Panels the car has been resprayed below the door centre line to cover a seasons worth of stone chips from the gravel. With some new signwriting and a fresh set of wheels and tyres the ol' gravel pig should be in a very presentable condition.
I must say that I am very much looking forward to this event. It has been a number of years since I attended Rally Tas (with Andrew Murfett in the GTi-R Pulsar) and with some unfinished business with DWR we all hope for a reasonable result but more importantly to gather some data so we can ensure the car is spot on for Targa Tasmania 08.
Thanks all, talk soon Scott
Head SOURCE
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
There's more to this than racing the clock !
Hi all, Zara here.
Yes, David's finally talked me into climbing into a rally car with him again. So as co-driver I've been frantically sorting out the logistics of getting the car and crew up to Burnie in time for the start of proceedings.
People don't usually associate mountains of paperwork with rallying, but believe me I've been filling a heap of forms ... strangely enough mostly with the same information, but whatever keeps the event happy !
Accommodation has been sorted. It's been a bit of a moveable feast with trying to plan when we need to be there and who needs to be there on what day. I think I've nearly got it close - at least everyone's got a bed at the end of the day.
Finalising the recce schedule has been a major part of determining when David and I need to go up. That took many hours of studying maps and the event itinerary and putting the two together with my general knowledge of the area. Fortunately I've been over this event many times, so it's not as tricky as it could be. I wouldn't like to be a brand new competitor doing this - the event's keeping the actual course pretty close to their chests in an attempt to stop competitors going over the course and annoying the locals. They've restricted recce so you can't start until Saturday 9th Feb and the last day is Thursday 14th.
We're writing our own notes and doing a couple of check runs so it will take around 3 days to do it properly without spending all day, everyday in the car.
All I've got to do now is keep an eye on the event info to make sure that I'm up to date with any changes or updates.
Oh ... and get fitted into the car to make sure I can reach the footrest and the seat is in the right position etc. Scotty's got that pencilled in to be done once the rest of the car is back together ... probably the week before we head up.
Stay safe ...
Yes, David's finally talked me into climbing into a rally car with him again. So as co-driver I've been frantically sorting out the logistics of getting the car and crew up to Burnie in time for the start of proceedings.
People don't usually associate mountains of paperwork with rallying, but believe me I've been filling a heap of forms ... strangely enough mostly with the same information, but whatever keeps the event happy !
Accommodation has been sorted. It's been a bit of a moveable feast with trying to plan when we need to be there and who needs to be there on what day. I think I've nearly got it close - at least everyone's got a bed at the end of the day.
Finalising the recce schedule has been a major part of determining when David and I need to go up. That took many hours of studying maps and the event itinerary and putting the two together with my general knowledge of the area. Fortunately I've been over this event many times, so it's not as tricky as it could be. I wouldn't like to be a brand new competitor doing this - the event's keeping the actual course pretty close to their chests in an attempt to stop competitors going over the course and annoying the locals. They've restricted recce so you can't start until Saturday 9th Feb and the last day is Thursday 14th.
We're writing our own notes and doing a couple of check runs so it will take around 3 days to do it properly without spending all day, everyday in the car.
All I've got to do now is keep an eye on the event info to make sure that I'm up to date with any changes or updates.
Oh ... and get fitted into the car to make sure I can reach the footrest and the seat is in the right position etc. Scotty's got that pencilled in to be done once the rest of the car is back together ... probably the week before we head up.
Stay safe ...
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Influenced by the DARK SIDE
Team DWR has stepped over the line, to the grippy black stuff, for a change of scene. It's been eight years since we last competed in a tarmac rally, and aside from some club-work at Baskerville racetrack, and a very entertaining hillclimb at Collinsvale, the Subaru has not seen a bitumen special stage.
The car is currently sitting on stands in my shed, sans gearbox. The broken cog-swopper needs a new casing and a few bits after the front crown-wheel tried to elope with the pinion during the final state round last year. The last 10 kms of that stage were completed in random-wheel-drive. Got my attention!!
Team chief Scotty is dropping the ride height, and playing wheel angles, but otherwise the car will compete as a PRC car, with its restrictor in, and 15" wheels, and little brakes, etc. This will leave us at a bit of a disadvantage for power and stopping, but we figure if we don't try to slow down too much, it won't be a problem!
The rally-seasoned Zara has been coaxed (bribed, backmailed) to call notes. This has only taken me eight years to pull off. So we will spend the next few weeks playing in the sheds, before journeying north to Burnie to recce the roads.
Will keep you posted.
The car is currently sitting on stands in my shed, sans gearbox. The broken cog-swopper needs a new casing and a few bits after the front crown-wheel tried to elope with the pinion during the final state round last year. The last 10 kms of that stage were completed in random-wheel-drive. Got my attention!!
Team chief Scotty is dropping the ride height, and playing wheel angles, but otherwise the car will compete as a PRC car, with its restrictor in, and 15" wheels, and little brakes, etc. This will leave us at a bit of a disadvantage for power and stopping, but we figure if we don't try to slow down too much, it won't be a problem!
The rally-seasoned Zara has been coaxed (bribed, backmailed) to call notes. This has only taken me eight years to pull off. So we will spend the next few weeks playing in the sheds, before journeying north to Burnie to recce the roads.
Will keep you posted.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
DWR go live!
Coming soon, words of wisdom from David & Zara live from Rally Tasmania. Might even be a few pics as well!!!
Here's some incar from the 2007 Tas Rally Series to start with :-
Here's some incar from the 2007 Tas Rally Series to start with :-
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